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About Rich Copley & Copious Notes

Raised by opera-loving parents in a rock ’n’ roll world, Rich Copley has parlayed his broad interests into his career writing about arts and entertainment. Since 1998, he has covered performing arts, film and faith-based popular culture for the Lexington Herald-Leader, the daily newspaper in Lexington, Ky. It’s a pretty broad beat, but Rich delights in finding influences of the past in the present and showing fine arts fans the value of pop culture, and vice versa. ~ Copious Notes is a blog covering that broad spectrum. If you want to read about specific areas of interest, such as theater or opera, click on one of the categories to the right and you will be whisked away to all posts in that category. Also, look around the blog for links; multimedia items such as photo albums, videos, and interviews with artists; and other nuggets. Have fun, and thanks for dropping in.
The header for this blog was designed by Danny Kelly and the illustration was drawn by Camille Weber.

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December 13, 2007

Catching up with Laura Bell Bundy

Laura Bell Bundy on stage Dec. 10 at the Lexington Opera House for a holiday concert with lifelong friend Lyndy Franklin. Copyrighted photo by Angela Baldridge for the Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com.

The last time we had a good chat with Laura Bell Bundy, it was the eve of the opening of Legally Blonde -- the Musical, the Broadway hit that has made the Lexington-native a certified stage star.

A lot has happened since that late April night: Bundy received a Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical, the show was filmed and aired nationwide by MTV, and Broadway endured a 20-day shutdown with the stage hands strike. All that, and she also released her solo debut as a country artist, Longing for a Place Already Gone, and played gigs around New York to promote it.

So, we decided to take advantage of Bundy being in town for her holiday concert with fellow Broadway performer, Lexington-native and lifelong friend Lyndy Franklin to chat with her about how it’s been going and her future with and beyond Blonde.

Here’s an edited transcript of that conversation:

Copious Notes: Tell us about the strike.

Laura Bell Bundy: There were rumors like, ‘OK, tonight, you might need to take your stuff out of the theater,’ months before we struck. Then, all of a sudden, within 48 hours it was like, ‘Take your stuff out of the theater, if you need anything. Make sure you take it home tonight.’ We weren’t able to get into the theater, even to get our costumes for the Thanksgiving parade [Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade] because the Local One stage crew opens the door to the theater.

But we were required by Equity (the stage actors union) to show up at what would be our half hour (call) and stay until the time of the show in case there was a deal. We had to do that for the first week. The second week, they started to say, ‘Well, you don’t have to come tonight because we know they’re not negotiating.’ So then we started to come every couple of shows.

CN: So, what was it like being closed during that period of time, during the holiday season, when you’re one of the hottest tickets on Broadway?

LBB: It was really unfortunate, because I’m sure we would have had incredible audiences during those weeks. Our show was pretty much sold out for that week and it’s a big money-maker week that lasts them a long time. You have two major weeks a year: Thanksgiving week and the week following Christmas.

But in a lot of ways, it was OK for me, because my family was up in New York, and I got to spend a lot more time with them.

CN: Was there anything else you had to do on Thanksgiving other than the Macy’s Parade?

LBB: Not on Thanksgiving itself. But I had to some stuff that week,
like special appearances. And I caught up with a lot of friends that
aren’t in theater. I can’t go out at night on Friday or Saturday,
because that’s the hardest part of the week for me -- I have five shows
between Friday and Sunday. So I got to hang out with a lot of friends
that I don’t normally get to see.

CN: What is your future with the show?

LBB:
Technically my contract ends Jan. 20, but we’re in talks to renegotiate
for a while. I’ll probably stay until the summer. I think we all want
that. There are other things I want to do, but I think we can work it
out where I can do those other things.

CN: What are some of the other things you’re looking at?

LBB:
I pitched a show to Warner Bros., and they bought it. But because of
the writers strike in Los Angeles, that’s been put on hold. But I
essentially have a short-term deal with Warner Bros. as a creator,
producer and an actor. So, I’ll have to leave and do that, if a pilot’s
made. And then, I have my music, and I’ll probably doing some festivals
in the summer, like I’ll probably be doing the South-by-Southwest
Festival in Austin, Texas. And I’m putting together a live show to take
on the road, probably in the summer of 2008.

CN: How has the CD been going?

LBB:
It’s been good. It’s hard to do gigs in New York while Legally Blonde
is going without calling out a show of Legally Blonde. To sing
two-and-a-half hours eight shows a week and then do an hour-and-a-half
gig is just brutal. So, I cut back a little bit. But when I was doing
them consistently, there was a strong momentum going. A lot of
stations around the country are playing my music -- indie-country
stations and Americana stations, and mainstream country as well. And I
got some good reviews. So what I’m noticing is momentum is picking up.
I co-produced it and released it on my own label so as to not have any
creative control taken away. So, in doing that, you have to have a slow
distribution process getting it out there. But Legally Blonde has
helped a lot, and it’s been good.

CN: What was the MTV thing like?

LBB:
Most people on Broadway never get the chance to have a professionally
recorded video of their show. We’re lucky if we have a bootleg we buy
off eBay a few years later. So, it was really amazing for all of us to
have a copy of this show . . . I can show my kids when I’m old. My
cousins are getting to see it, my nieces and nephews who can’t come to
New York as often as they’d like.

It was a perfect match for MTV.
It’s pop culture and it’s the right demographic for our show and it’s
their demographic. But also, MTV has gotten away with having a lot of
programming that doesn’t have music on it, and it’s supposed to be
music television. This was music television. This was a musical on
their network, and it was perfect for them. It’s perfect for us, too.
There’s the thing of, ‘Oh God. People will see it on TV and then they
won’t come and see the show.’ But there have been a lot of people who
have seen it on TV and then come to see it live.

The fans are a bit
crazier, since MTV. Particularly on the weekends, when the show starts,
they start screaming. I think it’s the MTV crowd, because they know the
people on stage.

CN: Do you think people in your generation and
younger generations still have any sort of mentality that, ‘If I see it
on TV, I don’t have to go’? With so many things these days, even on
Broadway, it seems having a movie or a TV show helps the live show
sell more.

LBB: It depends on your own mentality. If you want to
save a buck, you see it on TV. If you’re into having the live
experience of seeing the people that were on your television screen
live, to see if something goes wrong when it’s live, to sing the songs
when you’re in your seats, you’re going to want to see it live. It just
depends on what kind of person you are. Now, a 13- to 18-year-old
person typically wants to see something live. You don’t just buy the CD
and say, ‘I’m not going to see the concert because I have the CD.’ Most
likely, you only want to see a concert if you already have the CD. And
I don’t know if that works the same way if you see something on
television and want to see it live. But there is a demographic that
does that and then there’s also a mentality of wanting to see it live.
It’s the High School Musical crowd, it’s the, ‘I’ve seen the Disney
movie, and now I’m going to see the live version and get the doll and
everything that goes with it.’

MTV was pretty open about the fact
that they wanted this to be their High School Musical. The only reason
they didn’t put it out on DVD is they can’t. We didn’t give them the
rights, because if you have the DVD, are you really going to come see
the show?

CN: Do you think there will be a DVD from the show, eventually, from this version?

LBB:
I think there will be, if the show closes in New York, they’ll probably
do the deal for the DVD, and that would be a good idea, because they’d
make a fortune.

Coming Sunday: We also talked to Lyndy Franklin about her work on A Chorus Line. See what she had to say, here.

In it's third edition, Questapalooza attracted 6,500 people to Quest Community Church in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 31, 2008. The music lineup was Kirk Franklin, Kutless and needtobreathe. In addition to the tunes, festival goers enjoyed carnival attractions, contests, heard a sermon and witnessed baptisms.

The 2008 Ichthus Festival was a roller coaster ride. The week started with the first project by Ichthus Ministries' environmental initiative: ECOS (Earth Commission, Operation Simplify). Then there was the severe thunderstorm June 9 that leveled 14 out of 19 tents at the festival site, with only two days left to open. And it did open, earlier than ever with a Thursday morning battle of the bands. That was followed by one of the hottest Ichthus days ever, and we aren't just talking about Skillet's set the night of June 12. The next day was Friday the 13th, and it turned out to be unlucky for the fest, with thunderstorms scuttling the evening lineup. But as it often has, Ichthus rallied with a fun and worshipful Saturday. The Herald-Leader crew was out there all week. Here's our photo album.

May 19 to 29, 2008, the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble is taking a trip to China, where it is scheduled to play six concerts and visit seven cities. The tour finds China eagerly anticipating the 2008 Summer Olympics while also mourning the loss of tens of thousands of its citizens to a devastating earthquake on May 12. This photo album begins with images taken by the Herald-Leader's Whitney Waters at event's leading up to the ensemble's departure.

Actors Guild of Lexington's early spring production is Tom Stoppard's brainy drama, Arcadia. The show is a mystery over several centuries involving math, science and literature. Here's a look at some images from the show, which runs through April 6 at the Downtown Arts Center, by Herald-Leader photographer Charles Bertram. The photos are copyrighted by the Herald-Leader.

After years of going to -- excuse us while we clear our throats -- Louisville, Winter Jam finally came to Kentucky's true big house, Rupp Arena, March 6, 2008. That gave Lexington a heaping helping of MercyMe, BarlowGirl and Skillet, as well as others. This is a little record of the event.

The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre is presenting its production of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" through March 8, 2008 at the Lexington Opera House. To give more students a shot at the stage, and for the sake of the singers' voices, two casts were fielded for this production. University of Kentucky photographer Tim Collins shot both casts. Here's a selection of those images.

Lexington Native Amber Rhodes is a budding country star, shopping a hit independent release around the country, hoping to land a recording contract with a major label. To take a peek into the life of an aspiring country star, and to see how much work it is, I went down to Nashville to spend a day with Amber, as she works to get her name out there. Here are some pictures from that trip. All photos are copyrighted by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Between June 21 and Aug. 2, eight new plays or musicals opened in the immediate Lexington area. That was an extraordinary number of shows for a summer in the Bluegrass State. Here, we offer a photo album from behind the scenes and on stage.

On April 29, 2007, Lexington native Laura Bell Bundy realized her dream of creating a role in a Broadway musical when she took the stage of New York's Palace Theatre playing Elle Woods in 'Legally Blonde.' It's a goal she'd been working toward since age 10, when she played monstrous child star Tina Denmark in the Off Broadway hit 'Ruthless.' Her 'Legally Blonde' performance earned Bundy a Tony Award nomination for best leading actress in a musical. Over the years, Herald-Leader photographers have chronicled Bundy's career. These are some of their best shots, along with a few other photos.

Stephanie Pistello graduated from Lafayette High School and Transylvania University. She went to New York to pursue an acting career, but returned in August 2006 with her New Mummer Group to present Tennessee Williams' "Candles to the Sun" at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Since 1999, the Herald-Leader has previewed the Lexington Shakespeare Festival with profiles and environmental portraits of the actors or directors involved in each show. This is a gallery of those fantastic images.